Starting Monday, Sept. 1, those who earn the least in Michigan will earn a little more.

The state’s minimum wage will rise from $7.40 an hour in four stages, starting Monday with a 75 cent increase to $8.15; then $8.50 on Jan. 1, 2016; $8.90 on Jan. 1, 2017; and, finally, $9.25 on Jan. 1, 2018. Tipped earners will earn $3.10 starting today; $3.23 on Jan. 1, 2016; $3.38 on Jan 1, 2017; and $3.52 on Jan. 1, 2018. After that wages will be tied to inflation.

“First and foremost, it’s absolutely the right thing to do and the state is moving in the right direction on minimum wage,” said Tony Castillo, owner of four West Michigan McDonald’s franchises. “All employees are deserving of a living wage.”

However, that doesn’t mean the changes will come without consequences for business owners, employees and consumers.

Castillo has calculated how much more it will cost his company, Milagro Six Inc., to raise the pay of each of his approximately 250 employees.

The starting wage that is slightly higher than the minimum, but some newer employees will be directly affected by today’s minimum wage increase. However, Castillo said he plans to raise the wages of all his workers in unison, citing fairness concerns.

Even for those earning more than minimum wage will be affected, said Rich Starbuck, owner of Starbuck Machining in Holland Township.

“It’s going to drive the market,” he said.

The machine operator who went to school for engineering is going to look at someone making $9.25 an hour and say, “‘Hey, I went to school. I should get more,’” Starbuck said.

The Affordable Care Act is among the biggest variables for small businesses such as Castillo’s. Come Jan. 1 most employers with 50 (full-time) employees will be required to offer affordable health insurance to all full-time employees or face a per-employee penalty. The definition of “full-time” will also shift to mean 30 hours a week or more. It could lead to some employees hours being cut to keep them on as part-timers, Castillo said.

Without knowing the impact of the Affordable Care Act and whether the health of the economy will continue, Castillo said he can’t yet make a business decision as to whether he can afford to take the hit to his bottom line or pass some of the cost onto the consumer.

He will have to decide whether he can afford to eat the difference or have to pass it on to customers, something Castillo said he doesn’t want to do.

“When you look at the totality of the headwinds facing us, that could impact our number of employees,” he said.

The number of overall jobs lost in the state won’t be large, agreed John Lunn, a professor of economics at Hope College, but, he added,“the ones negatively impacted tend to be the people least able to get jobs to begin with.”

Page 2 of 2 - The minimum wage tends to be a political tool, he said.

“Most economists don’t think the impact will be real large on employers — or employees for that matter,” he said. “Most economists think adjusting the earned income tax credit would be a more effective way to help the poor.”

It’s an idea the Michigan League for Public Policy also supports. The left-leaning think tank said Michigan’s gradual minimum wage increase doesn’t go far enough and in its annual Labor Day report called a $10.10 an hour minimum wage.

The report stated Michigan has the seventh-highest gender wage gap in the country, despite considerable wage losses for men since 1979 — 74 cents for each dollar earned by a man, according to the report.

Although Michigan workers’ wages dropped 13.4 percent between 1979 and 2013, those without postsecondary education were even more deeply affected. High school graduates’ wages dropped 32.1 percent and those without a degree dropped by 46.3 percent.

At Castillo’s McDonald’s restaurants, workers have a variety of backgrounds: working mothers and fathers, high school and college students, short-termers and people who have been with the company for 40 years.